FDtR Part II: The Spirit World
by The Ebyam
Summary: Katara and Zuko look for a way to venture into the Spirt World to help Aang, while Sokka and Toph recieve an urgent message from an old friend. Part III coming soon.
1. Doctor's Note

Author's Note: If you haven't read part one of this story yet, it's highly recommended that you do. Otherwise, you'll probably be lost. Enjoy!

Sokka yawned and stretched as he exited his tent. Katara was at the campfire with Toph and Zuko making breakfast.

"You guys didn't even bother to wake me up?" he exclaimed.

"Nope." Toph replied. "The others wanted to, but I told them you were really tired."

Sokka scowled.

"Toph, can I talk to you? Alone?" he asked.

"Sure why not."

Toph got up off the ground and followed Sokka over to his tent.

"What's going on with them?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know. They've been acting really strange lately." Katara replied. "But that's not really what's important right now. We have to work on finding a way to get into the Spirit World to help Aang."

"Well, how does he usually get there?"

"He meditates for a while, than I guess he just leaves his body. I never quite understood it."

"Why don't we try meditation then?"

"I guess it's worth a shot."

"What's with you Toph?" Sokka asked once they were out of earshot.

"Why, whatever do you mean Sokka?" Toph replied, tilting her head to him.

"Don't try that stuff on me Toph, I know you better than that. Is this about what happened last night?"

Toph's playful attitude disappeared, and was replaced by a frown.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she muttered.

"Last night? In my tent? When we were talking about our relationship?"

"What relationship? We don't have a relationship!" she shouted.

Zuko and Katara looked over at them.

"Quiet down Toph! We don't need everybody hearing us!"

Toph crossed her arms and turned her head away from him.

"Listen Toph, I don't want this to ruin our friendship. I love Suki, and I still don't even know where she is! If I got involved with you I'd feel like I was betraying her."

"But like you said, you don't know where she is. She might not even be alive for all you know!"

"Don't say that! Don't ever say that again!" Sokka shouted.

He wiped away tears that had collected at the corners of his eyes and continued.

"I'm going to find her. I'm not going to let her down...like I let Yue down..."

"Is everything alright guys?" Katara asked as she approached them.

"Yeah." Sokka replied. "Everything's fine."

He walked back to the fire, leaving Katara alone with Toph.

"What happened? I heard yelling and-"

"Everything's fine. Leave me alone."

Toph turned around and crawled back into her rock tent, sealing the door behind her.

"Jeez Sokka, what did you do to Toph?" Katara asked as she sat down at the fire.

"We had a talk. That's it." he replied.

"Sounded like more than a talk to me." Zuko said.

"Well it's none of your business is it?"

Sokka got up and stormed off into his tent as well.

"I thought you guys were happier than this."

"We usually are." Katara said sadly. "Ever since Aang...went to sleep...we haven't been the same."

They suddenly heard a screeching from up above. They looked up and saw what looked like a bird flying up from over the treetops.

"What is that?" Katara said under her breath.

"It looks like a Fire Nation messenger hawk." Zuko replied as the bird touched down on a nearby log.

Zuko and Katara approached it and it cocked its head and flew to Katara shoulder. She screamed and tried to shake it off. Zuko laughed and helped the bird onto his arm.

"It looks like this hawk was sent for you." he said, opening the tube on its back and offering it to Katara.

She reached into the tube and pulled out a piece of paper that was rolled up inside it. She unfurled the paper and read it out loud.

"_Dear Katara,_

_ I hope you are recovering from your wounds and have safely found your way away from danger. I heard from...a reliable source that you and your friends are looking for a way into the Spirit World. I sent this hawk to let you know that I know a way to get there. Come find me as soon as you are able to. I wouldn't suggest taking the bison though, too obvious. My friend should reach you shortly after this message. _

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Kailyn_

"Kailyn?" Zuko asked. "Wounds? Did I miss something?"

Katara ignored him and reread the letter.

"How did she know we were-"

"Hello there travelers!" a voice called, interrupting Katara.

Sokka and Toph came out of their tents to see what was going on, and watched as a man approached out of the woods on a ostrich horse. He was pulling a wooden cart behind him.

"Friend of yours?" Zuko asked.

"No...this must be Kailyn's friend that she mentioned in the letter." Katara replied.

"Letter?" Sokka exclaimed. "Let me see that!"

He snatched it from her hands and read it himself.

"How did she know we were trying to find a way into the Spirit World?" he asked once he had finished the letter.

"No idea." Katara said in return. "I guess we'll find out."

As the four of them went to the cart, the man turned back to them.

"Sorry kids, only enough room in the cart for two."

Sokka thought for a moment.

"I'll stay here with Aang I guess."

"Me too!" Toph said quickly. "I-I mean, I really don't think I'd be much help to you guys in the Spirit World anyways."

"Alright then." Katara said. "Looks like it's you and me Zuko."

Zuko nodded and climbed in the cart next to her. Sokka waved as they rode back into the forest.

"So now what?" Toph asked.

"I don't know. Training?" Sokka replied.

"Nah."

"Swimming?"

"Sure, why not."

Toph and Sokka raced to the nearby lake, leaving the campsite with the fire still burning.


	2. Suki's Message

Authors Note: This chapter intersects with my other story, The Lone Warrior. You don't have to read it to understand what's going on, but it helps.

Sokka and Toph returned from swimming and headed to their respective tents. Sokka finished changing first, and walked out by the campfire. He looked over to Toph's tent and remembered back to when he had seen her changing a few days ago. He was still staring when Toph exited. He quickly looked away and sat down by the fire. Toph sat down next to him and smiled.

"Were you thinking about watching me get dressed again?" she asked with a smirk.

"What? No! I-I would never-" Sokka tried stuttering his way out of the accusation, but Toph cut him.

"I can tell you're lying."

He immediately stopped talking and blushed.

"So Sokka, we're all alone for at least a couple of days. What should we do to pass the time?"

"Um..." Sokka's heart was racing and Toph knew it. "We could take care of Appa! You know, fun stuff like that."

He quickly got up and walked over to the corner of the camp where Appa stood. Toph sighed and followed him.

"I thought that maybe we could spend some time together. Alone." she said, stepping in front of him.

Sokka laughed nervously.

"That's a good idea Toph, you could tell me where you took Appa the other day."

Toph's eyes widened.

"I didn't even know you knew how to fly Appa! How'd you do it Toph?"

"Oh alright. I had a little run-in with a bounty hunter."

Sokka was shocked.

"A bounty hunter? I thought they gave up hunting you!"

"I thought so too. Apparently this guy was tracking us for a while. He took me away on Appa and brought me to my parents."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I didn't want you guys to worry! We have other things way more important than me to worry about so just drop it!"

Toph started to storm off when Sokka grabbed her arm.

"Toph I-I mean we, care about you. You're just as important as anyone else in the group."

"Thanks Sokka, I needed that." Toph sniffed.

Sokka smiled and pulled her into a hug. When they broke the embrace, Sokka noticed something dangling from her neck. He lightly touched the string and Toph pushed his hand away.

"What is that?"

"It's nothing. Just a necklace."

"You've never worn jewelry before...you're not telling me everything about the kidnapping."

Toph sighed and pulled the phial out from around her neck.

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

"It's got some kind of serum in it. The bounty hunter splashed some in my face and for a few minutes, I could see. It was amazing!"

"So this stuff is like a cure for blindness?"

"I guess. It doesn't work very long though."

"Do you think it would work on Momo? I mean, since he's smaller, maybe this will be more permanent for him."

Toph said nothing, and her head hung. Sokka noticed and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Toph, I know you wanted to see, but you can get along just fine without your sight. Momo's completely lost while he's blind."

Toph nodded her head and Sokka crossed over to Momo, who was curled up near Appa.

"So how does this work? I just splash it in his face?"

Toph nodded. Sokka unscrewed the cap on the phial, swished the contents around, then called Momo's name. The lemur looked up towards the sound and was hit square in the face with the serum. He immediately screeched and took off into the air, rubbing his eyes. He was headed right for a tree, but at the last second, he opened his eyes and darted in the other direction.

"Yeah! It worked!" Sokka exclaimed. "Thanks for this Toph. You saved Momo's life."

Toph grunted in reply and headed back to the campfire. They suddenly heard more screeching, and Sokka looked up in the sky to see Momo wrestling with what looked like a bird. It escaped Momo's grasp and took off towards Sokka. He screamed and put his arms over his face, only to have the hawk land on his shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief and put his arms down. Momo was about to attack the hawk, but Sokka grabbed his tail.

"Oh no you don't. Bad lemur! Bad!"

Momo hissed as Sokka put him on the ground, then took off back into the sky again.

"What's going on?" Toph asked.

"I guess we got another message." Sokka replied.

He took the piece of paper out of the tube and started reading it.

_Dear Sokka,_

_I hope that you get this message, because you have no idea what I went through to write it! I've been stuck in a fire nation prison called the Boiling Rock for a few weeks now. At least I think it's been a few weeks. I lose track of time in here. I miss you Sokka. I haven't stopped thinking about you and what happened at the Serpent's Pass since I got in here. You're the only thing keeping me going. I'm not asking you to rescue me, but if you happen to be passing by, I'd love a visit. Just be careful, the place is surrounded by a lake of boiling water. I'm sorry, I think someone's coming. I hope to contact you again soon._

_Love,_

_Suki_

"Well, what's it say?" Toph inquired. "Who's it from?"

"It's from Suki..." Sokka said with tears in his eyes. "I know where she is."

"Oh...that's great I guess. That means she's out of prison then?"

"No, but she will be soon. I'm breaking her out."

"What? And just how do you plan to do that?"

"I don't know."

"Do you even know where this place is?"

"It's called the Boiling Rock. It has to be on one of these maps."

Sokka went over to Appa's saddle, lying near a tree, and started pulling maps out of one of the packs on it.

"Here's our biggest one of the Fire Nation. The one we used for the invasion. Toph see if you can help me find-"

Toph raised an eyebrow at him.

"Right. Never mind."

After scanning the map for a few minutes, he found it.

"Here it is! Right near the Western Air Temple!" Sokka shouted.

"So how do you plan on getting past a lake of boiling water?"

"I'll figure that out when I get there."

"Why do you keep saying I?"

"Because you're not going Toph. You have to stay here with Aang."

"What? I have to go! You cant do this alone!"

"I'll be fine Toph. Just please, listen to me. We can't lose Aang again, Katara would kill us. Here, help me get Appa's saddle on."

Once the bison was saddled up, Sokka climbed on. When he was about to take off, Toph called to him.

"Sokka, wait!"

Sokka stopped and looked down at her.

"I l-l-" Toph tried to get the words out, but she couldn't say it. "Good luck Sokka."

"You too Toph. Stay out of trouble and I'll be back soon with Suki!"

"Oh joy." Toph said under her breath.

She felt the wind in her hair as the bison lifted off the ground and soared into the air. Momo came down from the sky and curled up on her shoulders.

"I know Momo, I hate her too."


	3. Feelings

Zuko struggled to keep his eyes open as they went down the road at a snail's pace. Katara had fallen asleep on the other side of the cart and the prince was starting to get impatient. He stood up and walked to the front of the cart to confront the driver.

"Look, we've been sitting in this cart for hours! When are we going to get to the damn city!"

The ostrich horse suddenly stopped and Zuko went flying off the back of the cart. The jolt awoke Katara, who yawned as she stepped out of the cart.

"Thank you very much sir." she said, shaking his hand.

"Don't mention it! You be careful now kids!" the driver replied.

He pulled on the reins and turned the cart around, riding back down the road the way they came.

"Having fun down there?" Katara asked with a grin as she helped Zuko off the ground.

"A blast." he replied, rubbing his head.

"Well, this is the village that the doctor is from. Hopefully she'll be able to help us find Aang."

Katara and Zuko pulled up their hoods on their jackets and entered the village. Zuko noticed the many fliers adorning the village of the Avatar and his companions. Then he noticed fliers of him and his uncle from their days when they were on the run from Azula. Zuko then realized that he had left his uncle to rot in the prison back in the capitol city. He tried shaking the memory of his betrayal at Ba Sing Se from his head, bumping into Katara as a result.

"Watch it Zuko!" she whispered.

One of the villagers gave them an odd look, than continued onwards. They reached the doctors house and Katara knocked three times on the door, which fell to the ground after the last knock.

"I'm so sorry!" Katara said nervously as Kailyn approached them.

"That's perfectly alright young lady." the old woman replied. "Your friend did quite the number on my door didn't she?" She chuckled as she put the door back on its hinges.

"I can fix that right up for you." Zuko said.

"That would be very kind of you Prince Zuko."

"Oh it's no problem at-" Zuko stopped halfway to the door. "How did you-"

"I know a lot of things you two. Katara, come with me while your handsome new friend fixes my door."

Katara nodded and followed Kailyn into the other room while Zuko, using fire from his finger, welded the hinges on the door.

"So your having some conflicting emotions are you deary?" the old woman asked.

"Well...now that you mention it...yes I am. But that's not why we're here. We need-"

"To save the Avatar in the Spirit World. Yes, your friend is indeed in great danger, but you cannot enter the Spirit World unless you clear your mind. You must get these emotions off your chest."

Katara sighed and nodded.

"Zuko's been chasing us for the past year, and he's been our most hated enemy for a long time. But now, he's joined the group! He's one of us now!"

"You're confused about whether to trust him or not."

"Yes. Then last night, I had a dream last night about Aang being in trouble. He was being held by Azula."

"The Fire Nation princess?"

"Yes. I told the others and they didn't believe me because they all saw Azula..."

"Die?" Kailyn raised an eyebrow while Katara nodded slowly. "I see. Please, go on."

"Zuko was the only one who believed in me that night. He agreed to come with me and help Aang, even though he'd been hunting him for so long."

"It sounds to me like he's trying to earn your trust."

"I wouldn't have been so harsh on him if he hadn't betrayed my trust once before. We had been captured together at the siege of Ba Sing Se and he led me on to believe that he was this lost, hurt soul. I even offered to heal his scar! Thankfully, Aang showed up and I didn't. If I had used the spirit water on him-"

"The Avatar would have died that night."

Katara sighed.

"And now I've been thinking about him in entirely different ways. I-I think I might be-"

"Falling in love?"

Katara was surprised at how that sounded. She wasn't able to say it herself, but after someone else had said it, she like the sound of it. But only for a moment.

"No. That's crazy! I can't love Zuko! He's...he's...well he's Zuko!"

"You must accept your feelings Katara. If you let your emotions become bottled inside you, you won't be able to enter the Spirit World. You must at least forgive Zuko, for the Avatar's sake."

"Alright fine!"

Zuko, who had been listening at the door for the last part of the conversation, stepped away when he heard Katara coming. She opened the door and walked over to the prince.

"Zuko...I wanted to tell you something."

Zuko turned to face her. She wasn't looking him in the eye, instead stared at the floor while she spoke.

"What you did to us in Ba Sing Se was unforgivable...until now. You've given up a lot to help Aang recently, and I guess I can finally say..." She extended her hand to him and he took it, shaking it. "Welcome to the group Zuko."

Zuko smiled, and Katara looked up at him and smiled back.

"You see? Isn't it nice to forgive Katara?" the doctor said as she stood in the doorway.

"Yeah it is. It feels like a weight just got lifted off my shoulders."

"Alright Zuko, come with me. It's your turn to release some built up tension."

Zuko blushed as the doctor pulled him into the other room and shut the door behind her. The room was dark, lit only by a single candle in the center of the room.

"I sense you have some built up feelings about...your family?"

"I guess you could say that." Zuko replied. "My father and I are now enemies, I betrayed my uncle, who was more of a father to me than my own, and I..."

"Say it Zuko. You must accept what happened."

"I-I killed my sister."

Kailyn nodded.

"And now you feel that you're responsible for what's happening to the Avatar right now?"

"I suppose so. Azula wouldn't even be in the Spirit World if I hadn't sent her there."

"You can't blame yourself for everything Zuko. You must let your feelings go."

Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he released the breath, a puff of smoke shot out his nostrils.

"Very good Zuko. But those aren't your only feelings you're holding back on are they? You have feelings towards the water tribe girl, do you not?"

Zuko blushed.

"Well...maybe. I don't know. I never really thought of her in a romantic way, but after what happened at the campfire...and just now when she..."

"You have to accept those feelings young prince. You don't have to tell her what you feel, but you must accept it."

Zuko closed his eyes to think about his feelings, and all he saw was images of Katara. When he opened his eyes, he knew that he had fallen in love with the waterbender. Kailyn led him out of the room where Katara was waiting. Zuko waved nervously, and she waved back with a puzzled look on her face.

"Did you have a good talk?" Katara asked.

"Yes!" Zuko said quickly. He than cleared his throat. "I mean...yes I did. What about you?"

"I guess I did too. I learned some things..."

"Are you ready to enter the Spirit World kids?" Kailyn said loudly.

The two nodded.

"Than come with me."

Katara stopped Zuko from following her.

"I'll go in first. You stay out here and make sure nothing bad happens while I'm gone. Kailyn will let you know if I need you."

"Alright." he replied.

As Katara left, Zuko called out to her.

"Be careful."

Katara smiled and went into the other room.

When she entered, she realized that the room was pitch black. Kailyn had extinguished the single candle in the room. She jumped when the doctor grabbed her hand and led her to a wooden cot.

"I'm sorry if it's not too comfortable. You'll only be on here for a few minutes anyways."

"I've slept on worse, trust me." Katara replied.

Katara couldn't see what the doctor was doing, but suddenly felt her warm hands on her forehead.

"Close your eyes Katara. Let yourself drift off as if into a deep sleep. Let everything go. When you awaken, you will be in the Spirit World."

Katara followed her instructions and shut her eyes. After a few moments, she felt like she was falling. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a dark, misty forest. Various creatures she had never seen before darted from branch to branch.

"This must be the Spirit World. I wonder where Aang is?"

So Katara started her long search for the Avatar's spirit.

Meanwhile, Zuko was pacing around the living area when Kailyn emerged from the room.

"Did it work?" he asked.

Kailyn nodded.

"Your friend is now in the Spirit World. If she is in danger, I'll be able to tell."

Zuko fell into a nearby chair and slumped into the back. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Zuko bolted up, ready for a fight, but Kailyn motioned for him to sit back down. She approached the door and opened it.

"Is there a problem sir?" Zuko heard her say.

"Possibly." a voice from the outside answered. "There's been sighting of fugitives in this area. Have you seen these two recently?"

Zuko heard the rustle of paper and peered around the back of the chair to see Kailyn leaning in to read the papers.

"No I can't say I have." she said calmly.

"Alright, thank you miss. Let one of the guards know if you do."

"Oh I will. Thank you for stopping by."

Zuko heard her shut the door and sank back into his chair.

"That was way too close." he said, getting out of the chair.

"Apparently they know your in the village. You should lay low here until you find what your looking for."

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"It's my pleasure."

Back at camp, Toph was lying in her tent when she heard scratching at the door. She got up and sank it into the ground. Outside, Momo was screeching and pulling on her hair.

"Ow ow ow! Quit it Momo! What's wrong with you?"

She stopped wrestling with the lemur and got into her stance.

"Who's out there?"

"Oh, just an old friend." a deep male voice replied.

Toph sensed the man throw something and put up a wall in front of her. The wall exploded after the bomb hit it, sending shards of earth everywhere. She shot the shards towards her attacker, then made a pillar underneath where he was standing. She lost him for a second, meaning he had jumped out of the way. As soon as he landed, Toph shot another half dozen earth spikes at him and he dodged every one.

"Who are you?" she shouted.

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt Toph."

Toph thought about the voice, than remembered the bounty hunter who had kidnapped her several days earlier.

"Felix?"

"That's right Toph, and unlike the pathetic bounty hunters you've dealt with before, I'm not going away so easily."


	4. Revenge

Aang was trapped. Chains bound his arms and legs to to stone pillars, and he was suspended in mid-air.

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone out there?"

"Only me avatar, only me." a familiar voice responded.

Azula suddenly appeared out of a puff of smoke and approached him. Aang struggled with his chains, than had an idea. He inhaled deeply and blew as hard as he could at her, but nothing happened.

"You can't bend here in the Spirit World avatar, so don't even try."

"The Spirit World? That's where I am?"

"It is indeed, and you're my prisoner here."

The princess gently stroked Aang's cheek, and moved his head to get away from her. Azula grabbed the back of Aang's head and held him still while she dug her nail into his other cheek and dragged her finger down his face. Aang let out a cry of pain until she released him. Blood ran down the side of his face, dripping off his chin.

"That hurt!" Aang exclaimed. "Wait...that hurt? This is the Spirit World! I'm not supposed to be able to feel pain!"

"This pain is all too real avatar."

They suddenly heard a voice in the distance, calling Aang's name.

"Is that Katara?" Aang said under his breath.

He caught himself, but the damage had already been done.

"Your little waterbender girlfriend? I'll have to go give her a personal welcome."

"You leave her alone!" Aang called as Azula ran off into the fog.

Suddenly, the pillars started sinking into the ground. Aang struggled and pulled on his binds as hard as he could, but they were too strong. Soon, the avatar sunk with the pillars into the ground.

"Aang!" Katara called. "Aang can you give me some sort of sign? Anything!"

"I'll give you a sign." a voice said from behind her.

Katara turned just in time to avoid a dagger thrown by Azula. The dagger embedded into the trunk of a tree, vanished, than reappeared in the princess' hand.

"Neat little trick isn't it." she said smugly.

Katara noticed that she was in a swamp, and made a motion to pull the water out of the marsh around her, but nothing happened.

"Did I forget to mention that you can't bend here?" Azula said, playing with the dagger.

Katara clenched her fists.

"Where's Aang?"

"I'll make a deal with you. You best me in a fight and I'll bring you right to him."

"You really think I'm going to trust you?"

"I don't think you really have a choice peasant." Azula smirked on the last word, and it sent Katara into a rage.

She charged at the other girl, tackling her and knocking her into the swamp. The dagger fell from her hand and landed in the murky water. The girls rolled around, each trying to gain domination over the other. Eventually, Azula was on top of Katara, and holding her by the neck, pushed her head beneath the water. Katara tried to pry Azula's hands off her as she slowly lost consciousness. Flailing her arms, she eventually found her mark, and grabbed the princess' hair, yanking it towards her. Azula screamed and released her grip on the waterbender's neck, allowing her to emerge from the water and throw the other girl off her. She stood up, catching her breath, until Azula grabbed her legs and brought her into the marsh again.

~ "How did you find me Felix?" Toph asked as she held her stance against the bounty hunter.

"I've been tracking you since you left Ba Sing Se, it wasn't that difficult."

Toph widened her stance and kicked up rocks at Felix. He drew his sword and shattered three of them, the last one hitting him in the chest and knocking him back. Toph took this opportunity to throw two earth cuffs that locked him into a nearby cliff wall by his wrists. She shot two more to lock his ankles, but he moved his feet at the last second. He clenched his fists and blasted the cuffs holding him back into dust.

"How did you do that?" Toph asked, stunned.

"You see Toph, while I might live and hunt in the Earth Kingdom, I am in fact, a firebender."

He shot a ball of white hot flames that Toph stopped with a wall of earth. She shot the wall at Felix, only to have him keep his stance and blast it into pieces that scattered around him.

"You'll have to do better than that Toph."

Toph growled and lifted two large boulders of earth from the ground. She shattered them and shot the shards at Felix, who made a ball of flame around himself that blasted out like a shockwave, scorching the shards into ashes. Toph turned to see all of their tents in flames. She could feel the heat coming from around her and moved to put out the fires, but she was knocked to the ground by a rope that wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her side. Felix was about to claim his prize when Momo suddenly landed on his face, clawing with vigor.

"Gah! Get off me you stupid monkey!"

He grabbed Momo and held him at arms length, looking him right in the face.

"I see you got your sight back. That must have been Toph's doing. I thought I dealt with you last time when I blinded you, but now I see I'll have to do it again."

Felix reached into his pocket and drew out a vial of liquid and uncorked it. The lemur screeched and struggled in the bounty hunter's hand. Before he could act however, he was knocked into the air on a pillar of earth. Freed from his grasp, Momo took off over to Toph and chewed through her ropes, releasing her. Felix landed on his back hard, and the vial he was going to use on Momo flew through the air and the contents emptied all over Felix's face. He screamed in agony and covered his eyes. After a few moments of writhing around, he stood up.

"I-I'm blind...I'm blind! This can't be happening!"

"Oh but it is." Toph said with a smirk, and created a rock slide beneath his feet that caused him to tumble down the hill into the forest below. "Sweet justice. Now to deal with the fires."

She kicked up a cloud of dust that spun around her, than spread, extinguishing the flames, but leaving the tents in ruins. She walked over to Katara's tent where Aang had been laying unconscious and knelt down by him. She put down the earthen box she had placed around him and brushed her hand over his cheek. She stopped when she felt a cut. She gently ran her hand down the cut and thought to herself that she didn't think it had been there earlier. She shrugged as Momo entered the tent and landed on Aang's chest. His ears drooped and he curled up on top of him.

"It's okay Momo, Katara and Zuko are gonna help him. Wow, now there's something I never thought I'd say."

She exited the remains of the tent and stopped when she felt a foreign shape near the cliff wall. She walked over and knelt down on the ground. She picked up the vial that Felix had blinded himself with, than found a bison whistle, much like the one Aang had, lying nearby. She picked it up and felt it, stopping when she reached the horns.

"I'd better hold on to this." she said to herself as she put the whistle in her pocket.

~ Zuko had almost fallen asleep waiting in the chair when he heard voices from outside. He rose and went to the front door, opening it just enough to see a group of village guards talking to one another.

"It's been a few hours, should we go now?" one of them said.

"Yes," the largest one replied. "Felix said that if he wasn't back with the earthbender girl in a few hours to come to the location he had put on the map."

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise.

"Toph." he whispered.

As the guards left, Zuko moved to follow them when Kailyn grabbed his shoulder.

"You should see this." she said quitely, pulling him into the other room.

Katara lay quietly on the cot, and the room's only light source was from the lantern the doctor was holding. Zuko leaned in to look at her and realized that her eyelids were squeezed tightly shut, and she was writhing a bit in her unconscious state. He also saw small cuts that had formed all over her body.

"This is happening to her from the Spirit World?" Zuko asked in amazement. "I didn't think your real body could be harmed there."

"It can, if the Spirit has roamed deep enough. I fear that the Avatar may be in more danger than you originally thought."

Zuko stood up and thought to himself. Toph could handle a couple of Fire Nation soldiers, but Katara was all alone in a realm she had no idea about. She needed help.

"Put me in the Spirit World. I'm going to help her."

"Prince Zuko, your friend may be fighting with an evil you can't help her with."

"I'll take that chance."

Zuko laid down on the floor next to Katara and closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his stomach. He felt the doctor's hands on his forehead.

"Close your eyes Zuko. Let yourself drift off as if into a deep sleep. Let everything go. When you awaken, you will be in the Spirit World."

Zuko obeyed, and drifted away from the real world.

~ Katara had pinned Azula once again in the swamps, but the princess, after some struggling, managed to get her feet under Katara and kicked the other girl off her and back onto the shore. Azula than crawled through the muck, searching for the dagger she had lost.

"Where is it? WHERE IS IT?"

Her voice escalated to a screech and Katara called her name.

"Hey princess, looking for this?"

Azula turned just in time to be hit in the chest with her own dagger. She stumbled back and chuckled weakly.

"I never pegged you for the violent type peasant."

Katara smirked.

"It's the Spirit World. I can do whatever I want."

Azula's chuckle turned into a laugh that escalated louder and louder until it was echoing throughout the forest. She grabbed the handle of the blade and drew it from her chest, leaving nothing behind, no scar, no blood.

"But how is that possible?"

"It's the Spirit World. I can do whatever I want. You on the other hand,"

Azula tossed the blade at Katara, who moved to dodge it, just barely getting sliced on the left arm.

"...can not. You see, when I died, I woke up here. I don't know how, I don't know why, I just know that Zuko killing me was the best thing that ever could have happened."

Katara readied herself for Azula's next move, but suddenly, a voice called out from the woods.

"Azula! Why don't we make this fight a bit more even."

Zuko leaped from a tree branch and kicked Azula in the stomach, knocking her off her feet and back into the murky water.

"Zuko, you came!" Katara cried as she embraced the prince.

She pulled away after a second, both of them blushing.

"Well aren't you two just the cutest couple." Azula said as she rose from the swamp. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something."

She tossed her dagger towards Zuko who rolled out of its path. The blade than stopped in mid-air and multiplied into a dozen identical knives that all darted after the prince. They fired at him, slicing his arms and legs, but not doing too much damage. Katara went after him, but Azula reached out her arm. It extended into a vine-like appendage that wrapped around the waterbender's legs. She screamed as Azula pulled her back.

"Katara!" Zuko shouted.

He rolled away from the last few daggers and turned back. Before he could reach Katara however, the ground collapsed from under him and he fell into darkness.

**Author's Note: Well I guess you could say that Azula's got a different kind of bending now right? Right? Never mind. The next chapter or two will cross with the last chapter of my story, The Lone Warrior. I know it's annoying that I keep referencing my stories in my other stories, but ****this will probably be the last time. I hope. **


	5. Guidance

Toph was waiting at the camp for something to happen while she tossed a ball of earth to Momo. The lemur would catch it, then bring it back to her and drop it in her lap. Toph sighed and stood up.

"What is taking him so long?" she exclaimed.

She tossed the ball through Sokka's tent, causing it to collapse on itself. She grumbled as she crossed the campsite to reset it. She had just started to pull it back up when she dropped it and spun around.

"Who's there?" she shouted.

She put up a wall that blocked a fireball that was thrown her way and shot it at the attacker. When that one was taken down, more took his place. There were dozens of them, and they all advanced towards the blind girl. One of them, presumably the leader, spoke up.

"Be careful men. She may be blind, but she's one hell of a bender."

Toph smirked and dug her feet into the ground, moving her arms in two separate directions as she did. The ground split in two in front of her, making ten of the men fall into the deep crevice. She crumbled the ground around it as well, dragging in another half dozen. The remaining men continued their assault. Those who were firebenders attacked from a distance, while the others attacked her up close with swords and spears. She put up a barricade to shield herself from the fire, while she made giant earthen hands to fight the melee soldiers. She smacked a few away and pounded others into the ground like human nails. The giant hands even flicked one soldier clear over the hill. After the soldiers were dealt with, Toph shattered the wall and made the enormous pile of rocks fall on top of the firebenders.

"Do you guys ever give up?" she asked when she had finished.

As if to answer her, the general who had led the ambush climbed out of the rock pile and tumbled down it. Once he had gotten to his feet, he drew his sword and bent a stream of fire up the blade. Toph spit on her hands and rubbed them together, readying herself for the charge. As the man rushed her, she pulled up some earth from below her and bent it around her arms. Once he got close and swung his blade, she blocked it with one arm and struck him in the stomach with an open palm. He flew back into the rock pile and fell limp to the ground.

"Phew! That was quite the workout."

Toph shook the earth of her arms and knelt down by the general, feeling the ground next to him.

"I doubt that'll be the last of them."

She called for Momo and the lemur flew to her shoulder.

"Come on Momo, we're getting out of here."

She went over to Katara's tent and built a sort of coffin around Aang, which she lifted and took into the forest. After wandering around for a few minutes, she reached a spot near a large tree and opened up a hole in the ground right next to it. She dropped Aang inside and sealed the hole, marking the spot by headbutting the tree and leaving a dent in the bark. She stumbled back and held her forehead.

"That kind of hurt." she mumbled, but quickly shook her head. "Come on Momo, let's go find Sokka!"

The lemur screeched and followed Toph as she launched herself on pillar after pillar out of the forest.

~~Katara's screams echoed throughout the cavern as Zuko struggled to stand up. He looked up and watched the holed he had fallen down seal itself. He must have fallen at least 15 feet! If he wasn't in the Spirit World, he would have at least broken his legs. He finally got up and scanned his surroundings. It appeared that he was in a damp cavern. Water dripped from the ceiling, and the sound of it hitting the floor echoed.

"Is anyone down here?" he shouted.

He never thought he would get a response.

"I am here Prince Zuko." a voice replied.

Suddenly, a ghostly blue form appeared in front of him. The apparition was an elderly man, with a long white beard and a familiar face.

"Avatar Roku!" Zuko gasped.

"Yes Zuko, that is what most people know me as. I prefer you call me grandfather though."

After saying this, Roku's face split into a smile, which Zuko returned.

"How am I seeing you right now?" Zuko asked, puzzled. "I thought only the Avatar could interact with his past lives."

"You also thought that only the Avatar could enter the Spirit World, and look at where you are now."

"So...are you here to help me?"

"I am indeed prince. You have had a troubled past, but you are on the path to redemption. In order for you to redeem yourself of your wrongdoings, you must rescue Aang and Katara, who are being held by your sister, who was killed by your own hand."

"But Kailyn told me not to blame myself for what's happening! If I hadn't killed Azula, than she would have killed us! And besides, I didn't mean to kill her!" Zuko's voice was getting higher and higher as he spoke, and Roku finally held up his hand.

"Zuko, I am not blaming you for what is happening now, but you must stop it at all costs. Much like if he is killed in the Avatar state, if Aang's spirit is destroyed, then the line of Avatars will cease, and the world will be doomed."

Zuko nodded.

"Can you help me save him grandfather?"

"I can lead you to him, but the rest you must do on your own."

Roku suddenly turned into a glowing blue orb, and sped off down the cave with Zuko in hot pursuit.

~~The chains were no longer holding him, but Aang was still a prisoner. He was at the bottom of a pit, and could just barely see a speck of light towards the ceiling where he could escape. The longer he looked, the further the light seemed to move. If he could still bend, escaping the hole would only take an instant. He could fly up with a burst of air or simply rise up on a pillar of earth. Unfortunately, he was a spirit, and could only sit and wait for what was to come. He paced around the bottom of the pit and occasionally stopped to change directions. He had just finished another revolution when suddenly, a familiar blue spirit appeared to him.

"Avatar Roku!" Aang said, surprised. "Have you come to get me out of here?"

"No Aang, I cannot do anything to help you here."

"But you're a spirit! This is the Spirit World! I thought you could do anything here!"

"It is not my destiny to save you Aang."

"I know I know. It's my own destiny right?"

"No. It is neither yours, nor mine."

Aang was puzzled.

"Than who's?"

"An old enemy turned ally."

Aang was trying to think of who he meant when he heard a voice from the top of the pit. It was a long distance away, but he could just barely make out what they were saying.

"Aang! Are you down there?"

"Yes! I'm here!" Aang quickly replied.

The voice didn't respond, but instead, sent down a long green rope that, once he had grabbed it, Aang realized was vine. He turned to thank Roku, but his former self had vanished. Aang climbed the vine, and after what seemed like ages, he finally reached the top of the hole and was pulled out by his rescuer. He was shocked to see Zuko holding the rope, smiling at him.

"You? What are you doing here?"

Zuko realized that Aang hadn't been there with the others when he joined the gang. He scratched his head and tried to think of a way to explain it to him, but settled on an alternative.

"Look Aang, it's a long story and I don't think we have time for this."

"I just climbed out of a five hundred foot deep hole! I think we have plenty of time for this!"

"Five hundred feet? I thought it looked only about six feet deep."

Aang turned back to look in the pit and it indeed looked to be only about six feet deep. It had all been a trick, perhaps played by the Spirit World itself.

"Never mind that now, Katara's in trouble!"

After hearing Katara's name, Aang instantly focused on what Zuko was saying.

"Where is she?"

"She's up there."

Zuko pointed up at the ceiling to indicate above the caves.

"I don't know how to get back though."

There was a loud groaning noise as part of the cave wall collapsed next to them, revealing a long stone staircase that led to a small light at the top. Not wasting a second, Aang bolted to the stairs, taking them three at a time. Zuko followed close behind, both of them determined to save Katara.

~~The Boiling Rock had just appeared on the horizon when Sokka heard a loud rumbling noise behind him. He turned and his mouth hung open as he saw Toph bounding around on the ground below. He pulled Appa's reins and flew the bison lower. Toph heard Appa's roar, and heard Momo screech in excitement.

"Need a lift?" Sokka asked.

Using the sound of Sokka's voice, Toph bounced off her last pillar and into Appa's saddle, Momo landing next to her.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding Aang!"

"I know Sokka. Twinkletoes will be fine. I put him in a safe place."

"You put him in a safe place? Aang isn't an expensive vase! He's the Avatar! You have to guard him with your life!"

"Jeez calm down. I buried him underground after we got attacked by a bounty hunter and a couple dozen firebenders. No big deal."

Even though Toph was blind, she could tell that Sokka had a shocked look on his face.

"Trust me. Aang is alright. We should worry more about your girlfriend now."

Sokka sighed.

"Fine, but if Aang gets captured again, Katara's gonna have you to yell at, not me!"

Toph agreed as they made their way into the steam cloud surrounding the prison.

**Author's Note: This was kind of a bizarre chapter I know. Things will be a bit less Spirit Worldy in a few chapters so just hang in there people! Reviews appreciated as usual!**

**New Edit 8/19/10: Something's come up and I might not be able to update as often. I'll try to get chapter 6 up within a couple of days, but no promises.**


	6. Ambush

~~Zuko reached the surface shortly after Aang, who had already taken off into the marshland looking for Katara. Zuko caught up with him and stopped him.

"Aang, we have to work together to find her. Azula has her right now, and she'll be trying to pit us against each other. Those stairs came out of nowhere, and I'm betting that my sister has something to do with them. She's probably trying to lead us right into a-"

"Trap?"

They turned to see who had spoken, but Zuko was suddenly grabbed from behind by vines. They pulled him against a tree trunk where he was held tightly in place.

"I really wish people would stop sticking me to things!"

Azula smiled as she stood face to face with Aang, who had a furious look on his face.

"Where's Katara?" he shouted.

"Calm down Avatar, I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

She motioned to a large tree behind her where Katara was held in place by vines. They could tell she was struggling, but the vines kept her from moving, or even speaking. Aang moved to help her, but Azula snapped her fingers and the vines around Katara tightened. The airbender's eyes widened as he saw Katara shriek and squirm against the tree.

"Stop! You're hurting her!"

Azula put up her hand and the vines slackened a bit.

"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"How else am I going to have fun? I am dead after all. This is about as good as it gets."

"You died? How?" Aang asked, puzzled.

"Why don't you ask my dear old brother."

Aang turned to Zuko, who hung his head. Taking advantage of his distraction, Azula tossed her knife his way. Zuko looked up just in time to warn him.

"Aang, watch out!"

Aang turned and ducked, the blade narrowly missing him. As he turned around, it came back towards him like a razor sharp boomerang. He quickly rolled out of its path and it flew several feet until it embedded itself in Azula's chest.

"Oh for the love of-" Azula cried as she drew the knife out of her chest. "How many times am I going to be impaled by this thing today?"

Aang was stunned as he stared at where the knife had been. There wasn't even a mark on her clothing. Azula noticed and smirked.

"Getting a good look Avatar?"

Aang blushed, then quickly regained his composure.

"Get out of my way or I'll be forced to hurt you." he said angrily.

"Oh look at that. The big bad Avatar is going to hurt me! I hate to break it to you, but that ship sailed long ago. I'm dead, so you can't do anything to me."

Zuko was listening to every word, and then he had a thought:

"_Wait a second, she keeps saying that she can't be hurt because she's already dead. Maybe there's a way to bring her back to life..."_

Zuko's thoughts were interrupted by Azula's knife landing inches away from his head.

"Oops. Sorry Zuzu." Azula said sarcastically.

Aang rushed towards her, but Azula jumped over him, landing on the spot he had been standing moments ago.

"I'd love to play this game with you for all eternity Avatar, believe me I would, but I have other matters to attend to."

She suddenly leaped over Aang, landing on a tree branch next to Katara.

"The peasant and I will be waiting for you two at the temple. You know the one." Azula motioned to Aang.

"What are you talking about? I don't know about any temples around here."

"Well, not around here per say, but relatively close by. You can't miss it."

There was a loud clap of thunder and a burst of smoke, making Aang cough as he backed away. When the smoke cleared, Azula and Katara were gone. Aang rushed over to the tree and jumped from limb to limb, searching the tree all over, but there was no sign of them.

As Aang searched, the vines holding Zuko withdrew into the tree, and the prince dropped to the ground. He rose up to his feet and rubbed his wrists, groaning as he did so. He then approached Aang, who was still searching for any sign of Katara.

"Aang, she's not here. Azula's long gone by now."

"No, there has to be a sign somewhere." Aang said, stopping to look under one of the large roots.

"Azula gave us the only sign we're going to get. We have to get to that temple and find them. It's our only chance of saving her."

"But I don't know what she was talking about! I have no idea where any temples are around here!"

"Well she said we can't miss it, so it can't be that hard to find."

"It's not just that..." Aang finally stopped his frantic searching and sat down on the root, looking down at his feet as he did so. "Katara came into the Spirit World to rescue me and now she's the one who's in danger. If anything happens to her, then it'll be my fault."

After a few moments of hesitation, Zuko came over and sat next to the young airbender. He put his hand lightly on his shoulder and tried to think of something to cheer him up. What would his uncle say?

"Aang, I know we've had our differences in the past-"

"Differences? You've tried to either kill me or kidnap me every chance you get for months now!"

"Well um...yeah I kind of never got a chance to apologize to you for any of that. I already talked to the rest of your group and they seemed fine with it."

"They weren't the ones you were trying to kidnap!"

"That may be true, but never the less, I think we have to put aside those differences so we can work together to save Katara."

Aang stared at him for a moment, than sighed.

"I guess so, but this doesn't mean I trust you. As soon as we're out of the Spirit World, I'm not going to have anything to do with you."

"Fair enough. So, are you sure you don't know where this temple is?"

"I'm positive. I've never heard of anything like this in the Spirit World."

Zuko looked to the horizon to try and think, but that's when he noticed something.

"Hey Aang, do you think she means something like that?"

He pointed out the shape in the distance revealing and large, pyramid-like structure. Aang's face lit up at the discovery. He jumped off the root and started running into the forest towards the structure. Surprised, Zuko slid off the root and shouted to Aang as he ran.

"Hey! Slow down!"

Zuko bolted down the road after him as he took off.

**Author's Note: The following takes place after the events of my other story The Lone Warrior (last time I'll mention it I promise).**

~~Kailyn rang out excess water from the rag she was using and put the cold cloth on Zuko's forehead. There was an identical one on Katara's head as well. Just as she had placed it, there was a knock at the door. The elderly doctor rose to her feet and left the room. When she opened the door, she saw a familiar warrior, holding a familiar earthbender, and both of them looked like they had just gotten out of a fight.

Sokka was covered in cuts and bruises and had a black eye. His hair, normally in his "warrior's wolf tail" was instead put down, and messy. He was nothing compared to Toph however,. The young girl lay limp in his arms, a large bloodstain was on the stomach area of her shirt. Sokka's eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying.

"Well doesn't this seem familiar. You coming to my door with an injured young lady in your arms."

"I know you've already done so much for us, but I just need this one more favor."

Kailyn nodded and motioned him inside, peeking her head outside before closing the door behind him.

"You know I can't turn anyone away in their time of need Sokka. I've been on this earth long enough to know that."

Sokka smiled weakly as Kailyn pointed to a table, the same one she had treated Katara on. Sokka gently laid her down, then backed away, allowing the doctor room to work. He couldn't bear to watch, so he headed over to the room he had waited in before.

"Sokka, if you want to take care of your sister and her friend they're in that room behind me."

Sokka nodded and walked around the table, trying to avoid glancing at Toph's motionless body. He entered the room and was immediately shocked by how dark it really was. He shut the door behind him and let his eyes adjust. Once he had a little bit of vision, he felt around the room until he bumped into something. Feeling downwards, his hands came in contact with someone's face. He reached the hair and felt the familiar loops complete with beads. There was no mistaking his sister's hair loopies. He smiled and laid down next to the cot, closing his eyes and letting himself fall asleep.

~~Meanwhile, in a forest clearing not far from the village, Suki sat on Appa's saddle, twiddling her thumbs. She sighed and reached over to pet Momo, who was curled up next to Aang. She noticed a bit of dirt still on his shirt and brushed it off.

"Jeez Aang, you've been through a lot since you've been unconscious haven't you? I still can't believe Toph buried you underground! I guess that's someplace no one would think to look for you though. Wow, look at me, I'm so bored I'm talking to animals and comatose Avatars."

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head.

"I guess I shouldn't be complaining though. Sokka and Toph broke me out of prison, and I owe it to them to be supportive to Toph. I hope she'll be okay Momo."

Momo purred as Suki stroked behind his ears. He suddenly perked up, looking around frantically.

"What is it Momo? What's going on?"

The lemur growled and took off into the forest, Suki calling his name the whole way.

"Momo wait! What are you doing! Come back here!"

She soon lost sight of him, but he was still close enough that she heard his screech. Appa roared and turned to face the trees where Momo had disappeared. Suki grabbed Sokka's sword from the saddle and climbed off the bison, preparing herself for battle. A net suddenly flew out of the trees towards Suki, who promptly sliced it in half. Her strike left her open though, and a second net caught her off guard, knocking her to the ground. Appa roared again as several men in fire nation uniform came out of the woods, surrounding the small group. One of them held Momo in a net by his side. Another one spoke up as they neared Appa.

"Felix was right, this is the Avatar's bison, so the Avatar must be around here somewhere."

Appa growled and backed away from the men, but they had soon formed a circle around him.

"Leave him alone!" Suki shouted. "Appa, get out of here! Go! Yip yip!"

Appa was too distressed to notice Suki, as the circle formed a ring of fire to surround him. Appa roared once more and was about to attack when one of them launched a fireball at him. It struck him in the side, burning one of the saddle straps and singeing his fur. He cried out in pain and reared up on his back legs. Suddenly, the strap broke, and the saddle tumbled off. Various supplies lay strewn on the ground, along with Aang's unconscious body. One of the soldiers stepped out of the circle and bent down by the boy, and after checking his pulse, lifted him up and put him over his shoulder. The rest of the group continued to pelt fire at Appa, who was squeezing his eyes shut as he was pummeled.

"Stop! You can't do this!" Suki shrieked. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she watched a few of the soldiers simply walk away with Momo and Aang, and the rest of them torture Appa.

Another soldier walked over to her and started dragging the net away, towards the village.

"Appa, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you! Please forgive me!"

By now, Appa's normally white and brown fur was singed black, and patches were missing. There were even some portions of it that were on fire, and burnt freely. Hearing Suki's voice made Appa's eyes burst open. He let out an earth-shattering roar and smashed his tail into the ground, sending out a shockwave that knocked back the entire back of the circle as well as a large group of trees. The other firebenders backed away, but continued their assault. Appa lifted into the air, than came down hard, sending the remaining soldiers flying into the forest. He then took off into the forest canopy, scanning the ground for Suki, Momo, and Aang.

~~ He saw the soldier dragging Suki, and landed in front of him, making him soar backwards into a tree. He reached down and bit at the net holding the Kioshi warrior, snapping the rope and allowing her to escape. Suki ran up and embraced the head of the bison, getting a playful lick in response. She was overjoyed for a second, then saw the damage that had been done. Over half of Appa's fur was simply missing, leaving instead large patches of badly burnt skin. You could barely make out the arrow on his head anymore.

"I'm so sorry again Appa. If I had just been a bit more careful-"

Appa stopped Suki's worrying with another lick. She laughed and patted his head.

"Appa, can you bring us back to that clearing for a second?"

Appa bent down so Suki could climb onto his head, then went the short trip back to the scene of the attack. The soldiers Appa had taken out were still lying on the ground, unconscious. Suki jumped off Appa before they had even touched the ground and ran over to recover Sokka's sword, sheathing it at her hip and then climbing back on Appa.

"Sokka would kill me if I lost his precious space sword." Suki said sarcastically. "Come on boy, let's get Aang back."

Appa roared in approval and helped Suki back on. He lifted just above the treetops, then took off, scanning the forest once more.

**Authors Note: I'm sorry for the delay, but it wasn't nearly as long as the other ones. School's getting back into session soon, so I won't be updating very frequently. Maybe one or two chapters every two weeks****. Something like that. I'm also thinking about starting a new story that's not Avatar related...I'm not sure, but maybe Digimon or something like that. Well anyways, rev****iews/comments appreciated as always and thanks for reading!**


	7. Assistance

~~Aang and Zuko walked for hours before finally arriving at the large pyramid-like temple. The structure was unlike anything either of them had ever seen. It was clearly ancient, and there was an enormous stone staircase built right into it. It also seemed that there was a long, red, velvet carpet that covered them. Zuko bent down and felt the carpet.

"This kind of velvet is made exclusively in the Fire Nation. Azula must have put this here. This must be the place."

"Yes," Aang replied.

"This is definitely it. It's hard to explain it, but I can't shake the feeling that I've been here before."

Neither of them spoke another word as they ascended up the stairs, and when they reached the top, they saw Azula sitting in a throne with her legs crossed and her fingers intertwined.

"I've been waiting for you two." she said, smiling at them.

"I'm not going to play your games Azula, where's Katara?" Aang shouted, stepping towards her.

"Oh she's perfectly fine, for now. If you want her to stay that way though, you're going to have to play one more game for me."

Aang was about to rush her, but Zuko held him back.

"If you attack her, she might hurt Katara. Let's just play her game for a little while and see where it gets us."

Aang finally agreed and stepped back.

"Good job Avatar. Now, I don't know if you've noticed this, but your new friend has taken quite a liking for the water tribe girl."

Zuko and Aang were both shocked, but for completely different reasons.

"You what?" Aang yelled.

"It's not what you think Aang! I mean, I like Katara, but not like that!" Zuko was trying to explain himself, but Azula stepped between the two and stopped the fighting.

"You can save that for later boys. I'm getting to that part soon. You see, the peasant will survive, but one of you two will not. I want you to fight to the death for her affection."

Zuko immediately fought against the idea.

"No way are we going to-"

"Deal." Aang interrupted.

Azula flashed her trademark grin and stepped back. Zuko was speechless, and Aang simply stood face to face with him, readying himself into a fighting pose. Azula snapped her fingers and the flat surface they were standing on starting rising off of the temple until it was floating several dozen feet above it. Aang stood at one end of the platform, Zuko at the other. Azula stood off to the side, ready to watch the fight unfold.

"And just so you two can see what you're fighting for..." Azula clapped her hands and another platform rose, this one holding Katara, bound to the small block by vines. She was unconscious.

"Alright Aang, we can figure a way out of this if we both work together." Zuko whispered.

He was suddenly caught off guard by a punch to the stomach. He stumbled back and struggled to stay on the platform as he teetered on the edge. Aang swept his leg under Zuko's, but the prince jumped out of harm's way, landing behind Aang.

"There's only one way to save Katara, and that's by beating you!" Aang cried as he rushed towards Zuko again.

~~Kailyn had just finished tending to Toph's wounds when she heard another knock at the door. She sighed and walked the short distance to the door and opened it, revealing a girl she had never seen before, holding a boy that looked vaguely familiar.

"Hi there, I know you don't know me miss, but my name is Suki. I'm friends with Sokka. He said you were good at healing people so I dropped by with my other friend here."

She nodded towards the boy she had in her arms. His clothes were tattered and dirty, and he had light scrapes and bruises on his body, but otherwise he looked fine. A makeshift turban had also been tied around the top of his head. Kailyn raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to come in. The door on the other side of the room suddenly opened and Sokka emerged.

"Suki what are you doing here? You're supposed to be waiting with-" That's when he noticed Aang cradled in her arms. "Why did you bring him here! The village is crawling with guards! You could have been caught and killed!"

"We were already ambushed once." Suki said, interrupting his rant.

Sokka suddenly had a serious look on his face. "When?"

"Not too long ago. We barely escaped them. Appa got burnt pretty bad. He's resting up with Momo at a stream nearby."

Kailyn held her arms out to Suki, who looked to Sokka. He nodded, and she handed Aang over to the doctor, who held him gently in her arms before bringing him into the other room. Once she left, Sokka noticed Toph, lying on the table. He walked over to her lifeless body and held her hand. It was cold. Her chest and stomach were covered in bandages, and they were already beginning to show bloodstains. Suki wrapped her arms around Sokka's waist and put her head on his shoulder. Kailyn came out of the other room, startling them and making Suki jump back.

"Ah don't worry kids, I was young once too."

The two blushed as Kailyn waked over to Toph's cot and felt her forehead.

"Oh dear." she said under her breath.

"Oh dear? That's a terrible thing to say! What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" Sokka voice got higher with every word.

"I'm sorry you two, but I don't think your friend's going to make it."

Suki gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Sokka clenched his fist and closed his eyes. Both were starting to tear up.

"No...she can't go like this..." Sokka muttered. "She can't just...die..."

Kailyn put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Her physical body may be empty, but her spirit is still alive and well. She's in a better place now Sokka."

~~ "Hello?" a small voice called out. "Is anyone out there? Can anybody tell me what's going on or where I am?"

"Hello little one." a female voice responded.

The little girl spun around and readied her earthbending stance.

"I'm not going to hurt you Toph. I'm here to help."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am the spirit of Avatar Kioshi. I am here to help you get your bearings here in the Spirit World."

Toph dropped her stance and her arms fell limp at her sides.

"I'm in...the Spirit World? But how?"

"Well Toph, to put it bluntly, you died."

"Well that figures." Toph fell over and sprawled onto the ground.

"You seem to be taking this rather well." the former avatar said.

"I figured it was bound to happen sooner or later. I was just kind of hoping it would be later."

"Well don't worry Toph, it is not yet your time."

Toph bolted up onto her feet with an ecstatic look on her face.

"You mean you can bring me back to life?"

"Not yet."

Toph's face fell again and she once again collapsed to the ground.

"Great. Thanks for getting my hopes up."

"I cannot bring you back until you first complete what you were sent to the Spirit World to do."

Toph said and got up again.

"Alright, what do you want me to o?"

"That's the spirit." Kioshi said with a smile.

~~Zuko was doing his best to avoid Aang's blows, but every so often, a punch or a kick would make contact, and he would be sent stumbling back. Azula yawned and stretched her arms behind her head.

"This is much more boring than I thought it would be. Start fighting back Zuzu, I'm losing interest."

Aang had been wondering this for a while now, why wasn't Zuko fighting back? While Zuko was distracted from his sister's words, Aang threw another punch that landed square in the prince's jaw. Zuko stumbled back again and he toppled over the edge, barely managing to snag the ledge with his right hand. Aang looked down at him from the platform with a look that was a mix of anger and determination. Azula stood next to him.

"Come on Avatar, finish him off! He's your mortal enemy! He's tried to kill you! Now he's trying to steal your girl from you! Do it! Kill him!"

Aang lifted his foot, prepared to make the final blow, when suddenly, he swung his foot back, striking Azula and sending her flying of the opposite end of the platform. She dragged her nails into the stone, slowing her fall and managing to grab the ledge, much like her brother had. Aang then offered his hand to Zuko, who took it, and was helped back onto the platform.

"Why did you save me Aang? I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you Zuko. I used to...but not anymore. Besides, the monks taught me that every life is sacred, even the tiniest spiderfly caught in its own web."

As they smiled to each other, Azula was starting to pull herself up.

"How touching, you two made nice. Too bad that wasn't a part of the deal!"

"I'll take care of her Aang, you save Katara!"

Aang nodded and took off, jumping to Katara's platform. Meanwhile, Zuko had grabbed his sister's arm and was trying to force her off the edge.

"Oh no, you're not going to do me in again big brother!" she screeched.

Azula then dug her nails into Zuko's ankle, ripping through his pant leg and into his skin. He shouted in pain and released her, making her plummet from the platform. With her hand still tightly wrapped around his foot, Zuko went with her. He didn't even have time to grab the platform as he toppled off the edge.

~~ Aang was pulling on Katara's binds as hard as he could, but nothing he did seemed to work. He heard Zuko's screams of pain and turned to see him and his sister falling towards the ground. He knew there was nothing he could do, and if he tried to save them, he would be killed as well.

"Come on Zuko, think of something!" Aang muttered.

Zuko was plummeting faster and faster towards the ground, and he thought he was going to die. That's when Roku appeared to him once more.

"Zuko, I can give you some of my power for a short amount of time. You must use it wisely."

Zuko nodded, and he and Roku's eyes glowed simultaneously white. White hot jets of fire shot from Zuko's fists and he used them to rocket back up to the platform. Azula was in complete shock. So much shock in fact, that she didn't even see the ground coming until she hit it, making a large crater. Zuko's eyes returned to normal just as he turned to look at Aang.

"How did you do that?" Aang asked, flabbergasted.

"I-I don't know." Zuko replied. "I guess it was kind of like your Avatar state. I just channeled the power of an ancestor."

Zuko noticed Aang still struggling with Katara's binds and leaped the gap to help him. They finally succeeded in releasing her and Aang supported her as they jumped back to the other platform. Once they were on, the platform slowly returned to the temple it had been taken from.

"So do you have any idea where to go now?" Aang asked.

"I don't know. You're the Avatar. You're the one who should know his way around the Spirit World." Zuko replied.

Katara was starting to stir, and Aang helped her lean against a tree as she woke up.

"Ugh...what happened? The last thing I remember, Azula had me captured." she groaned.

"Yeah...Zuko and I took care of her for you." Aang said with a smile.

"I'm glad you guys set aside your differences to save me. I really appreciate it. I'm really proud of you Aang."

Katara kissed his cheek and Aang blushed, scratching his head.

"It was nothing Katara I just had to-" Aang stopped when he saw Katara kiss Zuko on the cheek as well. His face fell and he slumped his shoulders. "Never mind."

Suddenly, they heard an ear-piercing shriek that made them cover their ears. Azula climbed out of the crater and stepped towards them.

"You thought you could kill someone who's already dead? You'll have to try harder than that."

Azula summoned her knife and tossed it towards them, it splitting into three identical knives. The three of them dodged the knives and stood up.

"What's with the knives! I thought your girlfriend was the knife throwing one Zuko!" Katara cried.

"She's not really my-" Zuko started, but his sister cut him off.

"Let's just say that Mai taught me a few things before I died." Azula growled as she caught the knives on the return.

~~Toph followed Kioshi through the forest until she reached the side of an ancient looking temple. Not far from the steps she saw her friends fighting Azula.

"Is this what I have to do?" Toph asked. "Help them fight Azula?"

Kioshi said nothing, but nodded. Toph cracked her knuckles in response.

"Piece of cake." she said with a smirk. "I can take her down from here."

Toph got into a stance and stomped her foot, with the intention of making a pit for the princess to fall into, but nothing happened.

"I forgot to mention Toph, you can't bend in the Spirit World."

"Of course you can't." Toph groaned.

"But I can." Kioshi finished.

"And how does that help me?" Toph asked.

"We're going to take out Azula together Toph."

Toph and Kioshi's eyes glowed white, and Kioshi's spirit disappeared. When Toph spoke, she spoke as two people simultaneously.

"Let's do this."

~~**Author's Note: Thanks for reading this far into my weird story people. If you haven't read this far and are for some reason starting w****ith this chapter, than thanks for taking a look! I'm getting ready to wind down this story line, and I think this will be the last part, so no part III. So yeah, probably no more than half a dozen chapter****s left! Reviews and comments appreciated as always!**


	8. Confessions

The tents were set up and Zuko was setting up the fire when Aang came over to him.

"Hey Aang, what's up?" he said.

"I just wanted to talk to you…about Katara." Aang responded.

Zuko stopped tending the fire and sat back next to Aang.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Well um…of course I like her." Zuko responded nervously.

"You know what I'm talking about Zuko."

Zuko scratched the back of his head for a moment, thinking.

"That's what I thought. How long has it been?" Aang asked, slight sadness in his voice.

"I guess…well…I've had some weird feelings for her since Ba Sing Se. But I guess I really knew I liked her a little while after I joined your group."

Aang was silent, and Zuko poked a stick in the dirt for couple of minutes until he spoke up.

"I know you've liked her for a long time before me though Aang."

Aang looked over to Zuko and blushed. Zuko smiled and patted him on the back.

"She feels the same way about you Aang, don't worry."

"You really think so?" Aang asked, his spirits rising.

"It's definitely obvious."

Aang was beaming, and airbended a gust of wind that blew him off the log he was sitting on and on his feet. He walked towards Katara's tent, then turned.

"Thanks Zuko."

Zuko smiled and went back to the fire, sighing.

"They were meant for each other." he told himself. "Me and Katara just weren't meant to be."

~~ Aang opened the blue flap that led into the tent and saw that the girls of the group were in a conversation shortly before he arrived, but they were silent, all three of them giving him odd stares.

"I think we'll leave you two alone." Toph said, rising up and pulling Suki out of the tent.

Aang took Suki's place across from Katara and rubbed his arm nervously, not knowing what to say.

"Did you want to tell me something Aang?" Katara asked.

"Yes…I…um…Zuko told me…um…Ba Sing Se…and um…"

Katara raised an eyebrow and lightly touched the avatar's hand.

"It's okay Aang, just tell me."

Aang took a deep breath and spoke.

"Katara, ever since I first saw you when I opened my eyes at the North Pole, I've loved you. I've been trying to find an easy way to tell you my feelings, but I couldn't until now. You risked your life and went into the Spirit World to get me out of there, and I can't thank you enough for it. I just hope that you feel the same way about me and I didn't just make an idiot out of myself."

There was a couple of seconds of awkward silence and Aang sighed and stood up to leave.

"Aang wait." Katara said.

Aang turned back and sat down again.

"Aang, I do like you. A lot. For me its been since that fortune teller told me that I would marry a powerful bender, and when you saved the village from that volcano, I could see that that was you. Aang…I love you too."

Aang was stunned into silence, and simply stared into Katara's eyes. She rolled them, and leaned towards the younger boy.

"Here, maybe this will convince you."

She pressed her lips against his, and he almost instantly wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her towards him. They fell backwards and onto the ground, the whole time still locking lips. They broke after about a minute, both gasping for air. They suddenly heard a quiet giggling behind them and they looked back to see Suki and Toph peeking through the tent flaps. Aang's face went beet red, and Katara pulled some water out of a nearby jug, forming it into a whip and thrashing it at them. The girls yelped and stepped back. Katara laughed and stood up, helping Aang to his feet as well.

"Well, shall we go meet the crowd?" Katara asked, holding out her hand.

"Definitely." Aang replied, taking it.

They kissed one more time before stepping outside the tent to the prying eyes of the rest of the group. Sokka was the first to rush up to them.

"You and Aang? How long has this been-" Sokka was cut off by Suki, who put her hand over his mouth and dragged him away.

With the path free, the new couple went and sat next to the fire. Toph looked in the direction of Aang and gave him a thumbs up.

Suki and Sokka soon returned to the fire, Sokka sporting a large bruise in the center of his forehead.

"So, let's see the lovebirds kiss!" Suki exclaimed.

Sokka and Zuko both flinched a bit, and Katara and Aang looked into each other's eyes. Aang was still a bit shy, so Katara did the work for the both of them, bringing them together for a third kiss. Once they separated, Suki broke into applause.

"I take it they kissed?" Toph asked.

"So Aang," Zuko said loudly as if he was trying to change the subject. "Tomorrow we'll be starting your firebending training. Are you prepared?"

Aang broke eye contact with Katara and turned to Zuko.

"I've been ready for a while now. I know I'll be more careful, and I'll make sure Katara's nowhere near us when I'm practicing."

Katara laughed.

"You'll do fine Aang." She kissed him on the cheek and rose from the log, heading towards her tent.

"I'm going to get some things for dinner. I'll be back."

She blew Aang a kiss, which Aang responded to by turning scarlet again.

"See, I told you that she liked you." Zuko said.

"I guess you were right Zuko. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it."

"Guys, wait. Something's coming this way." Toph said.

"Very funny Toph." Sokka said, sounding both bored and annoyed at the same time.

"No really! From the woods in the west!"

Suki stood up and gasped.

"There's smoke rising up over the trees. What now?"

Aang rose from his spot and crossed over to Appa's saddle, retrieving his glider and spinning it open.

"Toph, can you tell what's coming?" he asked.

Toph knelt down and put her hand on the ground.

"It feels like an entire army!"

Sokka got up and walked over to Aang.

"We should probably pack up Appa and get ready to go."

"You're right." Aang said. "You and Zuko pack up Appa. I'm going to check out what we're up against."

He lifted off the ground and flew into the sky. Shortly after he left, Katara emerged with a pot full of ingredients. When she noticed the concerned look on everyone's faces, she put it down.

"What's going on? Where's Aang?"

"Something's coming Katara. A big something." Suki said, putting her hand on Katara's shoulder.

"And Aang went to see it didn't he?" she said, sounding more and more distressed.

"Don't worry Katara, Aang can handle himself." Sokka said.

"We just got him back from the Spirit World! We can't…I can't lose him again."

She started to tear up, and Sokka pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay Katara. Trust me."

~~ As Aang neared the source of the smoke, the smell of burning wood reached his nose and got more and more intense. Finally, he saw what was causing it. It was an army of hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers, along with dozens of tanks. Off in the distance, was a fleet of Fire Nation blimps. Aang's jaw dropped, and he quickly turned his glider and headed back to the campsite.

~~ When he landed, Zuko and Sokka were finishing packing Appa.

"This is bad guys. It's an army. Soldiers, tanks, blimps, the whole deal. We can't possibly face all of them."

"Why is there an army in the middle of nowhere?" Suki asked.

They all turned to Zuko, who shrugged.

"Why are you all looking at me? I don't know everything about the Fire Nation."

"It doesn't matter. You guys get out of here and I'll hold them off for a while." Aang said.

Katara walked up to him and grabbed his arm as he turned to leave again.

"No Aang. I'm putting my foot down. You're coming with us. I'm not going to let you get hurt again."

"He won't," Zuko said. "Because I'll be with him."

Aang smiled and nodded at the prince, and Katara started tearing up again. Aang pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"We'll be fine, and we'll catch up soon."

Sokka had helped Toph and Suki up and was waiting for his sister. Katara hugged Zuko, then Aang once more, then grabbed Sokka's hand and climbed into the saddle.

"I love you Aang." she said.

"I love you too Katara. Stay safe." Aang replied.

"Where are we going to meet?" Sokka asked.

"The Western Air Temple's not far away. It's marked on the map. Head there and we'll meet up as soon as we can."

Sokka nodded, then gave the familiar cry of "yip yip", making Appa roar and take off. The two unlikely allies turned to the woods where the sound of cracking trees and roaring flames got closer.

"We can do this Zuko. We'll hold them off for a couple of minutes to buy the others some time, then we'll get out of here."

Zuko said nothing, but nodded in agreement. They braced themselves for the fight, just as the trees just in front of them collapsed.

**Author's Note: Ha ha it's a cliffhanger! Yeah I know that's kind of a jerk move from me considering that I said the story was over, but after writing this and reading some…um… "fan" mail, I realized that the story can't be over yet. So yeah, I got a chapter or two left in me. Hell, I might even finish off the series in a way I see fit. I never really liked the cartoon's ending. Kind of anti-climactic. I also realized that I didn't like the Zutara ending shortly after I wrote it so I changed it. So yeah, the story's not over yet. Come back soon for part 3!**


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